Mixing device circuits can be used to transform an input signal at a given frequency into one or more output signals at another desired frequency by mixing the input signal with a local oscillator (LO) signal. For example, a radio frequency (RF) signal may be down converted to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal, or an IF signal may be up converted to an RF signal. In general, the frequency of the output signal is offset from the frequency of the input signal by the frequency of the LO signal. Existing complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) field-effect transistor (FET) based mixer devices typically suffer from nonlinearities at higher frequencies. This problem may arise, for example, from the use of a gate drive signal, derived from an LO, to drive the mixer gates of the FET devices. In particular, it is possible that this gate drive signal can drive the FETs into an undesirable non-linear region of operation, for a significant portion of each cycle of the LO. This in turn generally constrains gate drive signals to a relatively low level, which in turn limits the dynamic range of the circuit in which the mixer is included.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.